Circadian Rhythm News and Research

Latest Circadian Rhythm News and Research

Obesity impacts gene clock of cardiovascular system

Obese individuals typically suffer more medical problems than their leaner counterparts. They are more likely to be diagnosed with insulin resistance, diabetes, increased stress hormones, hypothyroidism, and sleep apnea. Researchers at the Georgia Health Sciences University in Augusta have also found the potential for something else, using an animal model.

12 Apr 2011

Blood pressure's internal circadian rhythm does not appear to increase morning heart attacks

The internally-driven daily cycle of blood pressure changes doesn't appear to be linked to the known increase in morning heart attacks, according to a study in Circulation Research: Journal of the American Heart Association.

8 Apr 2011

Vanda to initiate tasimelteon Phase IIb/III clinical trial in Major Depressive Disorder

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced its plans to initiate a Phase IIb/III clinical trial of tasimelteon in patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). The trial is expected to begin during the second half of 2011. Tasimelteon is currently being evaluated in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of Non-24-Hour Sleep/Wake Disorder (N24HSWD) in blind individuals without light perception.

31 Mar 2011

New findings help explain why toxoplasmosis causes serious disease

Providing clues into why the severity of a common parasitic infection can vary greatly from person to person, a new Johns Hopkins study shows that each one of three strains of the cat-borne parasite Toxoplasma gondii sets off a unique reaction in the nerve cells it invades.

15 Mar 2011

LRC professors develop daylighting design guide for school students

The body's internal clock is responsible for regulating the timing of our sleep and other daily biological cycles, called circadian rhythms. During school months, however, teenagers miss out on essential morning light needed to stimulate the 24-hour biological clock.

15 Mar 2011

Loss of 'twenty-four' gene makes it harder to wake up

Northwestern University scientists have discovered a new mechanism in the core gears of the circadian clock. They found the loss of a certain gene, dubbed "twenty-four," messes up the rhythm of the common fruit fly's sleep-wake cycle, making it harder for the flies to awaken.

17 Feb 2011

Mathematical models to predict fatigue could reduce risk of accidents

Washington State University sleep researchers have determined that the air traffic controller in the crash of a Lexington, Ky., commuter flight was substantially fatigued when he failed to detect that the plane was on the wrong runway and cleared it for takeoff.

24 Jan 2011

Scripps Research receives NIH grant to develop therapies for circadian rhythm disorders

The Scripps Research Institute has been awarded $3.17 million over four years to develop compounds that will counteract disruptions of the human biological clock - the circadian rhythm that regulates our patterns of activity and rest over a 24-hour daily cycle.

19 Jan 2011

Bright light therapy for the aged depressed: Study

A new study shows that exposure to bright light may ease symptoms of depression in elderly people. The researchers tried three weeks of bright light therapy using specially designed light boxes and saw that it improved symptoms of depression by as much as 54% in older adults with depression. The light therapy also improved sleep and optimized levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Low levels of serotonin are associated with depression and often targeted by antidepressant drugs. This is the first study of its kind to show a beneficial effect of bright light therapy on treating depression in the elderly with non-seasonal major depressive disorder.

5 Jan 2011

Study: Multitude of genes are linked to adult height

As much as 90 percent of variation in adult height may be caused by genetic inheritance, but a multitude of genes are involved. Most of these have yet to be discovered.

4 Jan 2011

Fungus may provide clue about human response to changes in circadian rhythm

Humans are not the only species ruled by a circadian rhythm. Even simple organisms like moulds are governed by an inner clock. Studying red bread mould may teach us how our own internal clock works. This is exactly what the Centre for Organelle Research at the University of Stavanger, Norway is doing.

30 Dec 2010

Interaction of light with circadian systems

In a new paper published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Aziz Sancar, MD, PhD, the Sarah Graham Kenan Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics in the UNC School of Medicine, and his colleagues have taken an important step in understanding the underlying molecular signals that influence a broad array of biological processes ranging from the sleep-wake cycle to cancer growth and development.

30 Dec 2010

Inserting plant's clock gene could replace circardian clock defect in humans

A gene that controls part of the 'tick tock' in a plant's circadian clock has been identified by UC Davis researchers. And not only is the plant gene very similar to one in humans, but the human gene can work in plant cells and vice versa.

2 Dec 2010

Chronic jet lag alters brain's intricate role in memory processing

Chronic jet lag alters the brain in ways that cause memory and learning problems long after one's return to a regular 24-hour schedule, according to research by University of California, Berkeley, psychologists.

25 Nov 2010

Mother’s high-fat diet alters fetal genes that regulate circadian rhythm: Study

The link between sleeping and obesity is drawn tighter as a new research published online in the FASEB Journal study shows that what your mother ate when she was pregnant may make you obese or overweight by altering the function of genes (epigenetic changes) that regulate circadian rhythm.

23 Nov 2010

Novel mechanism regulating circadian rhythm identified

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified for the first time a novel mechanism that regulates circadian rhythm, the master clock that controls the body's natural 24-hour physiological cycle. These new findings could provide a new target not only for jet lag, shift work, and sleep disturbances, but also for disorders that result from circadian rhythm disruption, including diabetes and obesity as well as some types of cancer.

11 Nov 2010

Depression associated with molecular-level disturbance in body's 24-hour clock

Depression appears to be associated with a molecular-level disturbance in the body's 24-hour clock, new research suggests.

11 Nov 2010

Nurses in health care facilities may perform better through harm reduction strategies: Researchers

University of Maryland School of Nursing researchers say nurses in hospitals and other health care facilities may perform better by following the lead of airlines, trucking, and nuclear plants, by limiting hours of service, ensuring prompt and definite breaks during shifts, and other scheduling strategies.

22 Oct 2010

Fluctuations in internal body temperature regulate body's circadian rhythm: Research

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that fluctuations in internal body temperature regulate the body's circadian rhythm, the 24-hour cycle that controls metabolism, sleep and other bodily functions.

15 Oct 2010

Research shows honey bees change their circadian rhythms

Unlike humans, honey bees, when thrown into highly time-altered new societal roles, are able to alter their biological rhythms with alacrity, enabling them to make a successful "quick switch" in their daily routines, according to research carried out at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

13 Oct 2010